But You'll Always Be My Hero
by A Beautiful Oblivion
Summary: "...Even though you've lost your mind." Lucy cannot decide whether to help Sixteen or continue as a secret Templar. Possible LucyxSixteen.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is like _Scheduled for Deletion_ in which I started writing a oneshot and it turned into something really long. I've written more than this... I _think_ there's enough for another chapter, but it's 2 in the morning and I really have no desire to check.**

**And it's claimed that Clay was "kidnapped" in February of 2011, which I _really_ have a hard time believing. Desmond was in the Animus for a _month_, if that, and he found maps, and even a Piece of Eden. I'm supposed to believe that Clay was subject to the Animus for a year and a half and Abstergo got no closer to a PoE? Yeah right. Besides, Desmond started feeling the Bleeding Effect within weeks of beginning Animus sessions. If the escalation continued in a linear pattern, he would've gone crazier way sooner than Clay did. Which is my reasoning behind him being captured July 25th-ish, 2012. "But he never would've been subject to the Bleeding Effect for that short a period and still kill himself", you say. I say that since he was kept in the Animus for dangerously long amounts of time, the effects of the Animus were intensified. Desmond, on the other hand, escaped Abstergo quickly and was given far more breaks while held captive than Clay was.**

**That's my rant. Deal with it.**

* * *

Clay looked her up and down. Lucy stared right back. She wasn't going to be intimidated by some Assassin.

But that's what _she_ was, wasn't it? Assassin? She mentally kicked herself. _Now is _not_ the time. _Vidic's eyes were boring into her back, just waiting for her to mess up.

"Mr Kaczmarek, just try and remain calm."

He, in turn, raised an eyebrow. "I _am _calm." Was there a hint of mock in his tone?

Lucy blushed furiously and bit her lip, trying to figure out what next to say. _Don't screw up, you idiot. You're on the brink of being fired. This is your first subject arrival. Do it right._

Vidic stepped in while she stood there, trying to get her brain to work. "You're going to be part of a fantastic new experiment, Mr Kaczmarek. It's called the Animus project."

"You seem to think that kidnappees are the new volunteers." Clay glared at the Templar.

"I would advise you to stop talking, Mr Kaczmarek," Vidic responded smoothly, though years of working with him taught Lucy to know when he was getting aggravated.

Clay, hands bound behind his back, stared back defiantly, but at least did what he was told. _The idiot._

This _was_ the man she was supposed to be saving. But one look at him told her that he was arrogant and _ignorant_. He hadn't been born into the Order, hadn't endured the brutal training she had, had _no idea _what she was going through—

"Something wrong, Miss Stillman?" Vidic was looking at her, Clay smirking over his shoulder. She realized her hands had clenched into fists, and immediately told herself to _relax_.

A deep breath and she shook her head. "Nothing, sir."

Vidic nodded. "Good. I will leave you to get our..." He turned and looked Clay over. "..._guest _comfortable." And with that, he exited the lab, leaving assistant and prisoner alone.

Lucy glared for a few seconds while Clay's grin grew wider.

"_What_ are you smiling at?" she eventually demanded. "You're _kidnapped_, for God's sake!"

"Aw, but I have _you_ here to rescue me," Clay mocked, imitating a child. Lucy nearly panicked - there were cameras _everywhere_, and what he'd just said could imply that she was a traitor - until she realized that it could mean anything. That was too close, however.

Clay hopped down from the Animus and pulled at his wrists. "Want to get these things off of me? They're giving me plastic-burn."

Lucy darted close to him, jabbing him in the chest so he was forced back onto the machine, then put her face up to his. "All right, _listen_," she hissed. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but there are cameras fucking _everywhere_ so if you want to get us _both _killed, I suggest you keep talking."

Clay finally shut up, but that stupid grin was still on his face. What was so fucking _funny_?

"Good." She backed off and he stood again. Withdrawing a pair of wire cutters from a drawer, Lucy cut the plastic binding his wrists. With her free hand, she pointed to a door opposite the window. "Your room's over there. It's unlocked." She looked him over once more, then spat, "_Six_teen.

"We start at dawn tomorrow. Be sure you're ready."

Sixteen bowed deeply, and raised his head. "If you say so, mi'lady."

Lucy made a noise of disgust and poked him away with the cutters.

As he was entering his room, Sixteen called over his shoulder, "By the way, I could totally see up your skirt."

Lucy blushed furiously and her hate for this Assassin doubled.

* * *

The next morning, Lucy typed in the code to enter Sixteen's room. Normally she would've knocked, but after last night some revenge was in order, so she just entered, hoping to catch Sixteen doing something embarrassing.

Instead he stood up from where he was sitting on his bed, very much ready. Lucy cursed her luck, then realized how childish she was being. She was _above _him. She shouldn't need to get revenge.

"Ah, excellent!" Sixteen grinned like he was about to get a grand tour of the place. "I thought you weren't coming..." He paused. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

A glare. "Lucy."

"Lucy." Sixteen tested the word in his mouth. "I like it."

She breathed deeply, then slapped on a smile. If she wanted Sixteen to think she was an Assassin, she'd have to act like one. "Come on."

He dutifully followed her out to the Animus. Vidic was out somewhere, probably getting more coffee - the Templar had never been a morning person - so Sixteen's first Animus session was to be _her_ responsibility. Again, a first. At least the pain and disorientation subjects normally experienced their first time around would wipe that stupid smirk off Sixteen's face. Lack of sleep the night before combined with an early morning did _not _reflect well on her tolerance level.

"Sit here." She pointed to the Animus while she went around and typed a few commands at its computer. Blue lights on the side of the Animus brightened and flashed back and forth.

Sixteen did as he was told, sitting facing her. Lucy stole a glance up and met his eyes. She started and looked back down, trying to stop the blood from dying her cheeks.

She straightened up. "Give me your arm."

He held out his right. Lucy blinked. "You're left-handed?"

Sixteen raised his eyebrows. "One in ten are."

"Unfortunately, I need your left." Lucy held up the catheter. "This tube is only so long, I'm afraid."

"Ah. Of course." Sixteen was being rather relaxed about the whole thing. Did he not know where he was?

He stuck out his left arm. "Poke away."

Lucy inserted the catheter, trying to keep an eye on Sixteen's face. His smile faltered for half a second as the large needle slid through his skin, but that was it.

"All right." She gestured to the Animus' head. "Lay down."

Sixteen again obeyed. Normally - or so she was told - test subjects made quite a fuss about being kidnapped. "I want to go home" this, "you can't do this" that. But Sixteen just... did as he was told. It made Lucy's heart twinge a bit.

"This isn't going to be easy," she told him instead of just putting him under right away. "The Animus is a very unpredictable computer." Why was she telling him that? Now _this _was a good way to get fired.

He just looked up at her. Was that a trace of fear in his eyes? "I'm ready."

These were the two words he would end up regretting for the rest of his life.

* * *

**Seriously, I'm not sure if this is going to end up as fluff. I just can't decide.**


	2. Chapter 2

**It's been pointed out to me that Lucy is a little OOC. Just keep in mind that the _entire_ time we saw her alive, she was acting.**

* * *

Lucy watched Sixteen closely as the screen slid away and his eyes opened. He immediately groaned and tried to raise his left hand to his head, forgetting about the needle in his arm. Lucy grabbed his wrist and stopped him before leaning closer.

"How do you feel?"

"That was... _awesome_." Sixteen laughed.

Lucy smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She had let him explore a little, disabling missions and allowing him to experience Rome as it was in the year 117. But tomorrow was when the real work started; he needed to find Ezio's Apple.

Lucy let go of Sixteen's wrist and placed her hand under his shoulder, supporting him as he sat up.

"Not too fast," she muttered, then slowly withdrew the catheter from his skin, placing a cotton ball on it. "Hold this."

She looked up from sterilizing the needle. _To check on him, _she told herself.

Sixteen was staring at his arm as he held the cotton, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "Wow," he muttered.

"What?"

He turned his eyes to hers. Unsurprisingly, another grin formed on his face. "I never knew being an Assassin could be so... exciting."

Lucy couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. He really had _no _idea.

Sixteen tipped his head, seeming to read her mind. "But you wouldn't know anything about that, _would _you, Miss Stillman."

Now she was back to glaring. "Of course I don't," she hissed through clenched teeth, wishing the cameras were off so she could just strangle this pest herself.

Rare Italian rain tapped the window as she worked on in silence. Sixteen returned to looking thoughtful.

"You were only in there for about an hour," Lucy said, "so there should be no side effects—"

"Side effects?" Sixteen interrupted. There wasn't a trace of alarm in his tone.

"Visions, memory loss, double personalities, that sort of thing." Still Sixteen's expression didn't change. It was as if this whole thing was a big joke.

"Oh." But in just that word, Lucy heard it: He was scared. For what, she didn't know.

Lucy bit her lip, pity working its way into her heart. "Maybe you should go get some sleep for a little. Being in the Animus must've been tiring."

"But it's 7:30 in the morning."

She blinked. She'd forgotten how early it was. "You should lie down anyway."

He laughed, any trace of negative moods gone. "I've been lying down for an hour. You really need to tell me when I'm getting out—"

"Will. You. Shut. _Up_!" Lucy hissed, again hating this man and his big mouth. She'd worked so hard to get where she was now, and it wasn't about to be ruined by an impatient Assassin.

At that moment the door to the lab opened and in walked Vidic, steaming mug of coffee in one hand. Behind him followed two very large men, the same that brought in Sixteen the night before.

"Ah good, you've finished," Vidic said, uncharacteristically cheery as he strode toward the Animus. "I need to borrow the subject for testing."

"Uh, 'subject' is sitting right here," Sixteen interrupted, twisting round so he was facing away from the window and Lucy and waving a hand. Lucy silently prayed he would learn to shut his mouth, and _fast_.

Vidic apparently thought the same thing, because he shot Lucy a sharp look before turning to Sixteen.

"Mr Bale, Mr Hardy," Vidic said. Lucy stared. Had he lost his mind? Or was he a little too eager to see that new Batman movie she'd heard so much about? Maybe he just took thrill in reminding himself about the Colorado shooting... It was an Abstergo-organized crime, designed to distract America while companies around the country built and tested weapons right under citizens' noses. And it had worked.

But the two men behind him stepped forward, and she realized Bale and Hardy must be their names; relation to movie stars' was coincidental.

_Even though they won't be movie stars for much longer, _Lucy mused. She'd heard rumours floating around that Hollywood itself was going bankrupt; pirated DVDs and digital copies were spreading like wildfire over the Internet and no one felt the need to go see a movie any more—unless it was to record it.

_Focus, _she reminded herself. Dying industries could wait; it was now that mattered.

The two men grabbed an arm of Sixteen's each and dragged him backwards off the Animus.

"Hey!" Lucy and Sixteen said at once.

"That is very expensive equipment," Lucy snapped. "If you break a single piece of it—"

"You could've just _asked _me to get up!" Sixteen said indignantly to the men, struggling to find his feet.

Bale and Hardy looked at each other, and rolled their eyes as if to say, _We're not getting paid enough to deal with this. _One of them withdrew a sack from somewhere in his jeans and tossed it on Sixteen's head; it was easier than knocking him out, but still.

Lucy felt terrible when they did this, especially when the subject tossed their head and tried to get the bag off. She was reminded of the first time they'd tried to do this with Fifteen, when Lucy began to work next to Vidic. Fifteen had tried her hardest to get away and had to resort to begging; she had been with child and the stress put on her was terrible.

Sixteen, however, was a whole different story. He, apparently, wasn't so bothered by the bag as he was by the fact that he couldn't see anything. He threw his head, not trying to get away, but to get out of the dark. He was dragged out of the room by Bale and Hardy, followed by Vidic. Bringing up the rear was Lucy.

"Oh come on!" she protested, hurrying to catch up with Vidic. "Can't you hear how stressed you're making him? He doesn't like the bag!"

"That's not my problem," Vidic said cooly, still following his guards and subject. "I'd rather he not know the way to the test facility, and, short of inducing unconsciousness, this is the only way to ensure that."

Lucy fumed for a second or two. "Well what am I supposed to do while you run these tests?" Vidic was very particular about who he let watch while he performed on subjects, and she was already well aware that she wasn't one of these people.

"Also not my problem." They reached the testing room. Vidic unlocked the door and, as it slid open, he turned to Lucy. "We'll be about an hour or two." He tipped his head, then his eyes made a path from her face to her chest.

"Eyes are up here," Lucy hissed. Vidic could be downright creepy sometimes.

He nonchalantly looked back up at her face, as if nothing had happened. Lucy suppressed a shiver; the two guards and Sixteen had disappeared into the lab, leaving her and Vidic alone in the hall. It occurred to her that he could do whatever he wanted.

"Just... go work on the Animus or something." Vidic waved her off and vanished into the test facility. The door slid closed, leaving Lucy alone. She let the air out of her lungs, then turned the opposite way of the Animus lab. An hour or two was plenty of time.

* * *

Security for the fourth floor was at the other end of the building as where she worked, but no one cared where Lucy was. She got no strange looks from guards, no one ever stopped her to ask why she was here and not where she was supposed to be. It was as if she was invisible.

Lucy slid her keycard into the door for security and unlocked it. As it slid open, she entered quickly.

In front of her were about a hundred screens on three walls, each showing some part of the fourth floor. The ten or so screens that showed where she and Vidic worked were outlined in orange tape—he wanted them to stand out. This, however, saved Lucy time in finding them.

The guard that was keeping an eye on the screens swivelled his chair around as she entered. As soon as he saw her, he froze and his eyes widened. It was as if he'd never seen a female before.

He was young, though, with curly dark brown hair sticking out from under his cap. No name tag, as per usual. Last time Lucy was in here, there was no one in the room; she must have come at the right time. But there was no backing out now.

"Hi." Lucy smiled. "What's your name?"

The guard's look turned to suspicion. "Mark." American. Of course. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, _Mark_," Lucy began as she moved closer to a filing cabinet. She leaned against it, praying she remembered the right drawer. "I need some time alone with some of these tapes, and you're going to give it to me."

"Uh, I don't think so." Mark's confidence seemed to be returning to him, and he reached for the phone. "You work for Vidic, don't you? I'm sure he wouldn't be too happy if I were to call him—"

"Wait!" Lucy almost panicked, but she stopped herself and pulled on the second drawer on the filing cabinet. As she suspected, it wasn't locked, and in a file marked "Confidential" she withdrew a Playboy magazine she'd found the last time she was in here. As she pulled it out, she fervently hoped it actually belonged to Mark. On it was a completely nude woman straddling some sort of metal hammock next to a pool.

"I'm sure your supervisor wouldn't be too happy to find out about this." Lucy held up the magazine and read the title, trying to remain calm. "'May Anderson Bares Her Soul'. Well." She raised her eyes. "That _is _interesting."

Mark's lips clamped together and he stood. Lucy looked up and realized he had to be at least six inches taller than her. However, he was practically cowering in front of her, any phone calls long forgotten.

"All right, do whatever you want." Mark snatched the magazine out of her hands. "Just... don't tell anyone."

Lucy smirked as he left, turning to the screens when the door slid shut. Luck was on her side.

* * *

Lucy aimlessly touched keys on the iPad while she waited for Vidic. There was nothing _wrong _with the Animus, nothing for her to "work on", and nothing for her to do.

Once she'd rigged the cameras to loop old footage - footage she made sure would repeat every 72 hours - she had strolled casually out of the security office and back to the Animus lab.

On a whim and for reasons yet unknown, even to herself, she entered Sixteen's room to have a look around. There was the bed, surrounded by generic furniture. An ordinary bathroom led off from the bedroom. And that was it. Lucy wasn't sure what she'd come in here to find, but the knowledge that no one could see what she was doing was easy on her mind.

Lucy exited Sixteen's room just as the main door was opening. She jumped and pretended to be working on something at the machines behind her, turning when Vidic entered the room. He was followed, of course, by his guards and Sixteen.

"All right, Miss Stillman," Vidic said as Lucy strode toward him. He pulled the bag off Sixteen's head, who looked rather out of it, then nodded to his guards. They half-dragged him onto the Animus, where he sat slumped.

"You can put him back in now," Vidic continued as he dismissed Bale and Hardy with a wave of his hand.

Lucy frowned. "What did you do to him?" She got closer and tipped up Sixteen's chin. His eyes were unfocused and he didn't react when she touched him.

"Oh, nothing he can't handle." Vidic gave her a hard look. "Now get him back in that machine," he demanded. "We don't have any more time to waste."

Instead of pointing out that Vidic was the one who had wasted time and not her, Lucy released Sixteen's chin and stood up straighter. "He needs rest. Look at him; he can't even focus on what we're saying."

"Sure he can." Vidic snapped his fingers in front of Sixteen's face, who looked startled and sat up a little straighter. "You're fine, aren't you, Mr Kaczmarek?"

Sixteen blinked. He did look more aware of his surroundings now, as if Vidic's snapping had brought him back to reality. And as he became more aware, anger replaced the confusion in his eyes. He raised his head and looked straight at Vidic. "You bastard," he hissed. "You goddamn bastard."

"Now, let's not overreact, Mr Kaczmarek," Vidic said lightly, unruffled by the insults.

"What _exactly _did you do to him, Warren?" Lucy was looking at Vidic now, suspicious.

"Miss. Stillman," Vidic snarled, his anger overflowing. "Mr Kaczmarek knows that if he says a word about what went on in that room I will have him out of here faster than you can blink." He turned to Lucy, rage in his eyes. "And _you _should know better than to ask questions."

Lucy sighed. "Fine."

Vidic blinked and the anger was absorbed back into his body, something he was very good at. "Well then," he said, clapping his hands once, "Miss Stillman, prepare the Animus, if you will. I'd like to see our subject's first real session for myself."

Lucy began to start up the machine, stealing glances at Sixteen as she went. He looked more aware as he glared at Vidic, and didn't even flinch when the catheter was inserted.

"Lay down," Lucy instructed, trying to force the pity out of her voice. Sixteen did as he was told, which made her heart ache even more. He had stopped fighting.

"Good luck," Lucy breathed as he went under, earning herself a stern look from Vidic.

"Where did you send him?" Vidic asked after a few seconds.

"Florence. June 24, 1459," Lucy responded, not looking up. "It's time for him to live as Ezio."


End file.
